Super Crawl…here I come!

Good morning friends! Happy Friday! I have so much excitement in my life right now, I don’t even know where to start…

In one week’s time, I will be set up inside Steel City Fab at 288 James Street North, in Hamilton, Ontario as a part of Super Crawl! This is an annual event where artisans of multiple talents set up along a closed city street to show and sell their craft. Live music will be available at multiple places along the street as well. I am SO grateful for this opportunity, and so very nervous as this is my first BIG event…and second market as a vendor…ever.

What are my fears? I am afraid of not selling and being out the cost of space, prints and display supplies. I fear embarrassment and feeling like a failure. I fear not connecting with people, and having art that is “nice” but not worthy of hanging in one’s home. I fear having the wrong sizes or price points available. I fear social burn out…as since my head injury I still struggle in crowds. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I fear selling out of original pieces and not having enough to display for the entire weekend, AND having to start completely fresh for the Artisan Bazaar markets in November and December. However, I keep telling myself that THIS would be a really good problem to have. 🙂

Mostly I am excited. Grateful to be a part of this amazingly well known and established market. Excited to share my passions with more people, and BE an artist for 3 days in a row! To tell people about my solo exhibit, Renewal. To talk about the emotion behind these paintings, available as prints only for Super Crawl, and relate to other people’s stories. And to share with other artists about the upcoming workshop with Donna Downey.

And so now, I struggle with focusing my energy in preparation. Everything I currently have available is packaged and safely placed in totes, ready to transport and set up. I have never used the particular display I am planning to use, so I don’t know how to work with my space yet. So that gives me a little anxiety. And my original art looks like such a small amount now that it is wrapped and packaged…so do I continue working on minis for Super Crawl? Or do I consider myself done and focus on my commission work and solo exhibit pieces? It amazes me how I could be painting all day every day happily, but the anxiety still kicks into gear with “am I doing the right thing?”. Silliness, I tell you!

This pre-event anxiety is not a new feeling to me. And this is comforting, because that means I know how to deal with it, and that I will be ok. I feel this way EVERY TIME a run comes up. The last 2 weeks, during my taper, I get nervous about my abilities and question my abilities, and what I was thinking when I signed up for such a task. And in the end, I always pull through, and it is always fun and exhilarating. I have confidence I can do this market because of the practice I have had running. Even when I sprained my ankle, badly, during the Cottage Country Ragnar, I was able to pull myself together and complete the loop and the course. Which proves to me that I can do hard things, and that when unexpected things happen, I can roll with the punches and get what I need to do done. And again, the link between art and running becomes clear to me. The lessons learned and practiced through running, DO apply to every day life scenarios, and really do provide empowerment, confidence and courage. Bring on Super Crawl!!!

Share this:

Published by lizzieloumixedmedia

I am an artist and a runner, learning to embrace inspiration and accept imperfections one step at a time. This is the journey of me recreating and redefining myself after a head injury, through depression and anxiety.
View all posts by lizzieloumixedmedia